Justin Bourque has been named as the suspect in the Moncton, Canada killings.
Bourque, 24, killed three Mounties and wounded two others, the RCMP said.
Bourque was caught on camera several times while walking around Moncton. He was wearing camouflage and carrying at least two guns, among other items.
He has fairly long red hair.
Bourque is believed to be hiding out in woods in the Pinehurst area of the New Brunswick city, and may also have a crossbow and knife.
He was spotted three times while eluding the massive manhunt that emptied roads and kept families hunkered in their homes in Moncton, an east coast city where gun violence is rare.
A large number of police officers could be seen in a part of the search perimeter with their weapons drawn, some peeking around buildings. Others were patrolling streets within the cordoned off area. Armored security trucks were also visible.
Police released a map of a large portion of the northwest section of the city, including a heavily wooded area, where they wanted people to remain inside with their doors locked. Families hunkered down in their basements.
Daniel St. Louis, a commercial photographer, said he came upon the scene around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and saw two blood-stained police vehicles on separate streets.
One of the vehicles, a marked police cruiser, was surrounded by shattered glass. The other, an unmarked SUV with its lights still on and the driver’s side door left open, had several bullet holes through its front windshield.
A photo purportedly showing the back of Justin Bourque in Moncton, Canada on Wednesday night. (Twitter/Patrick Hemsworth)
Justin Bourque and an unidentified man after taking shots near a wooded area in February 2014. (Facebook/Justin Bourque)
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Damien Theriault and Mayor George LeBlanc pause to collect themselves before addressing the media during a late night news conference at City Hall in Moncton, New Brunswick on Wednesday June 4, 2014. Three police officers were shot dead and two others injured in a rare case of gun violence in the east coast Canadian province of New Brunswick, officials said. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Marc Grandmaison)
Police officers take cover behind their vehicles in Moncton, New Brunswick, on Wednesday June 4, 2014. Three police officers were shot dead and two others injured Wednesday in the east coast Canadian province of New Brunswick, officials said, and authorities were searching for a suspect. (AP Photo/Moncton Times & Transcript, Ron Ward via The Canadian Press )
Emergency response officers enter a residence in Moncton, New Brunswick, Thursday, June 5, 2014, searching for a suspect who killed three Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers in a shooting the day before. Wednesday. Police have identified a suspect as 24-year-old Justin Bourque of Moncton. Two other officers were wounded in Wednesday’s shooting. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Andrew Vaughan)
Emergency response officers check a residence in Moncton, New Brunswick, Thursday, June 5, 2014, searching for a suspect who shot and killed three Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers the day before. Wednesday. Police have identified a suspect as 24-year-old Justin Bourque of Moncton. Two other officers were wounded in Wednesday’s shooting. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Andrew Vaughan)
“I walked over and I saw two feet, facing the street, toes up,” said St. Louis, 51. “I realized, ‘Oh my God. There’s somebody down.’ As I got close, I realized it was an officer and this is not a good situation.”
Bourque’s Facebook page is full of posts that rail against police, and includes pictures of him with guns in the past.
Caitlin Isaac, who worked with Bourque at Walmart several years ago--before he was fired--said he told her that he wanted to “give people something to remember him for.”
“I never took him seriously, but he always said he wanted to go out with a bang and bring people with him,” she told Business Insider.
“He’s always seemed to have a problem with authority,” she says. “Issues with parents, bosses, police...” Still, she adds, he “seemed friendly enough. Little bit of an outcast, but not to this extent.” He was fired for “attitude related issues, being defiant, not doing what he was supposed to be doing — problem with authority.”
Mike Campbell, who has known Bourque since they were both two years old--and who still lives nearby--added that the pair spent a lot of time playing army games while growing up and dreaming about joining the military.
Campbell said that Bourque recently quit his job at a grocery store and was living in a trailer park.
He doesn’t know how to explain the killing spree.
“I believe he just didn’t know what to do. He was my best friend my whole life. He would be the last person I would think would do this.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
